Lexington duo apprehended for romantic scams involving cryptocurrency
A duo from Lexington has been taken into custody and is set to plead guilty in a Columbian court after being arrested for their involvement in an elaborate romance scam that revolved around cryptocurrency. Kenneth Brown Jr. and Nicholas Shepard allegedly made more than $600,000 through online romantic scams between 2021 and 2022. The pair, who operated a small-scale precious metal and artifact pawning company called Golden Eagle Precious Metals Exchange, claimed they were unaware of any wrongdoing related to their business. According to court documents, unsuspecting victims would transfer their money or assets to the duo, who would then convert it into cryptocurrency, leaving the victims without access to their funds. The scheme involved funds from both individuals who fell victim to romantic scams and businesses whose assets had been compromised. The money was first transferred to an account at Truist Bank and then to an account at Voyager controlled by Nicholas Shepard, who would convert the money into cryptocurrency. The victims of the romance scams were located in California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, and West Virginia. If proven guilty, Brown and Shepard could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They are expected to appear in court in September to plead guilty to charges related to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and email fraud. The defendants have admitted to indirect connections with a drug laundering network but deny active involvement. They claim to have been coerced into the practice by this network. Their lawyer states that Brown was devastated when he discovered the source of the converted funds. He has cooperated with authorities and forfeited a significant amount of assets to facilitate restitution. Both defendants have been working with the government and offering their assistance to address the situation and provide restitution to those affected. While misrepresenting oneself online is not uncommon, this case is unique due to the victims’ belief that they were making informed decisions. However, it is worth noting that there has been an increase in the use of cryptocurrency for money laundering purposes, as acknowledged by a report from Chainalysis.